Geoege hofmann



(No Model.)

G. HOI'MANN, Jr., & A. D. HOFFMAN.

' PIRE ESCAPE.

vPatented May l, 1.883.

N. PEIEHS. Plwwhmogmpher. wnhinglon. ac.

t UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE HOFMANN, JR., AND AUSTIN D; HOFFMAN, OF CHICAGO, ILL.

Pme-ESCAPE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 276,585, elated May 1, 1883.

Application filed February 14, 1883.

. To all whom. it may concern llD Beit known thatwe, GEORGE HOFMANN, Jr., and AUSTIN D. HOFFMAN, of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented new and useful Improvements in Fire- Escapes, of which the -following is a specitication, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, illustrating the improvement, in which- Figure l is a perspective representation of a Atire-escape embodying our improvement; Fig. 2, a sectional elevation of the lower end ot' one brace-standard enlarged, more clearly toshow the construction; Fig. 3, an enlarged section of the top end of one brace-standard, showing the acorn-cap. Fig. 4 shows another kind of netting from that supported bythe brace-standards.

The present invention relates to those escapes which are employed for catching people leaping from burning buildings.

The nature of the invention consists ot' a portable-frame, which, by means of bracingstandards and stretching-ropes, is made to sup port a netting or canvas of suitable strength and elasticity to sustain the strain of a person or persons leaping from different heights ot' a building, as the whole is hereinafter fully described and shown.

A B e represent a frame, whichl is prefera` bly made ot' light strong wood, or of wood and iron. A

(l represents what we term bracing-standards, which also may be made ot' wood. Their lower ends are, close to the middle frame-piece, A, piyoted by means of ball-and-socket joints ed E, so as to have a free movement from speedy manner by persons of ordinary skill.

(No model.)

ten by thirty feet, and the bracing-standards may be formedl to raise the netting ten or twelve feet from the ground or place on 'which the frame stands.

Where the sidewalk is not so broad as the frame A B e is, the latter can be quicklly supported at one side by a block on the street, should the latter be much below' the walk.

.,-As a means to get desirable results from the apparatus fire departments should be providedwith a suitable number, to be transported on a truck, which is provided with ways for sliding them up to a building in the shortest period ot' time, or otherwise placing them in convenient positions for persons to leap thereon.

`Buildings in which a large number of persons stay should be `provided with one or more ot' these lire-escapes convenient for use.

Where room is a consideration, the standards C may be constructed to lie tiat on the where it can be had Without delay.

By experiments we und that four men can carry fi om any convenient place the frame, and set the apparatus in so short a time as to meet any, even unusual, emergency. Where there is greater ease required than the elasticity ot' the netting, the ropes a. a a t may beprovided `with elastic attachments of rubber; and to attain a greater bracing support the lower ends ot"- the braces C may be placed on oppositedes of the middle frame-piece, A.

i We claim as new and desire to securev by Letters Patent- The frame A B eofa tire-escape, constructed substantially as specified and shown, with the bracing-standards() C O C, pivoted theretoin l inclined positions, as shown, in combination with the netting or canvas F and tighteningropes at et a a, as and for Vthe purpose specilied.

GEORGE HOFMANN, JR.

AUSTIN D. HOFFMAN.

Witnesses: G. L. GHAPIN, STEPHEN HAWTHORNE. 

